What have you done with your Keyser kit

[LBSCRAlex]

Here is a K's terrier I bought 4 months ago, It is built to a very high standard with all of the original parts included in the kit, Runs nicely too.

 

In detail: The locomotive is No. 54 Waddon in its SR Maunsell black livery numbered 680s.

[auld_boot]

Just remembered....

 

If anyone has a K's Rebuilt "Merchant Navy" kit tucked away, have a good hard look at that firebox casting. I think K's famously cast it the wrong way round.......

 

I'm no expert on rebuilt MN firebox should look like but look what I found in the attic, my first attempt at a loco kit (which explains the wonky cab!):

[tre pol and pen]

It doesn't bear close scrutiny but this much modified Ks bulldog is still one of my favourite models

[DLT]

Afraid they're not very good photos, but here's one of the K's family still in regular use on "Tormouth Quay".

Obviously unfinished when the photos were taken a couple of years ago (and, if I'm honest, still unfinished to this day!) but looking the part running between the warehouses & the water's edge.

 

I threw away everything below the running plate 9 or 10 years back & fitted Gibson frames, Romford wheels, Mashima flat can & Branchlines multibox.  The motor drives the rear axle with beam compensation on the front 2 axles using MJT (I think) hornblocks.  Ran very well up to the Taunton show last October, when it turned into a good representation of a 3-legged dog.  For some reason a soldered joint on the chassis has fractured and a house move (& all the fun that goes with it!) means that I haven't had the opportunity to do anything about it.

 

DSCF0127c.JPG

 

DSCF0130c.JPG

 

DSCF0131b.JPG

 

I remember the real 47161 from the days "when I were a lad".  I was in Blackpool & it was shedded at Fleetwood, just a short bike ride away.  On my fairly frequent visits I would find it pottering about the shed yard or shunting the fish quay except on the days when I had a camera in the saddle bag.  On those occasions it would be tucked away in the back of the shed in a completely unphotographable (is that a word?) position.  Then one day it wasn't there at all and it never came back.  Never did get a photo of it!

47165 was another one-time Fleetwood inmate but it disappeared even earlier and managed a short existence elsewhere before its date with Gertie GasTorch.

Hi Graham,

 

I enjoyed seeing Tormouth Quay at Exeter over the weekend, and discussing Beattie Well Tanks.

Very remiss of me that I've not come across Tormouth before, do you have an RMweb thread on the layout, or an online gallery anywhere I can look at?

 

Many thanks,

Dave

[devonseasider]

Hi Graham,

 

I enjoyed seeing Tormouth Quay at Exeter over the weekend, and discussing Beattie Well Tanks.

Very remiss of me that I've not come across Tormouth before, do you have an RMweb thread on the layout, or an online gallery anywhere I can look at?

 

Many thanks,

Dave

 

Pleased you liked it - I suppose I should have had the Fowler Dock Tank running then we could have kept this thread on topic!  (insert smiley-face thingy here!)

Still, the Well Tank is a kit-build even if it isn't K's, so we've not strayed too much I hope.

 

re: Tormouth Quay - no thread or gallery I'm afraid, although a couple of other people have also suggested I should document it so perhaps "watch this space" as they say.  To be honest, I've never really thought it to be all that good myself & I'm constantly amazed at the positive comments it gets and the fact that I get occasional invitations to take it to exhibitions.

Next trip out is Barnstaple on 27th July if anyone would like to see it.  I expect 10% of the door takings for that plug if Richard reads this  .  .  .

 

To get back on topic, I've got another couple of K's locos suitable for use on Tormouth Quay but they do still need a bit of work to get them to an acceptable standard.  Would be nice to think I could have one ready for Barnstaple (there's another plug, another 10%!) but realistically I doubt it will happen.  We're still living out of boxes following our recent house move, the layout doesn't have a permanent home as yet (in fact, it's still packed in the car after it's trip to Exeter) and as I've got to clear everything out of the temporary office / study / modelling room so it can be decorated & have new flooring fitted I can't see that much happening to it.  We'll see.

[OliverSR]

Here is my K's 14xx I am in the process of restoring.

Click Here to see my workbench for full details of the project.

OliverSR

Edited June 4, 2013 by OliverSR

[jcm@gwr]

I've just had a check through my stock of wagons,

mostly picked-up at swap-meets/toy-fairs.

 

I have never built a K's kit, but I had to re-build a Coral

that had been badly glued together with epoxy. A good

soak in Nitromors cleaned it up nicely and it went back

together quite well and runs ok.

 

I also have a nearly finished Toad (no handrails) and a

Loco Coal (N24, I think), both whitemetal.

 

The only other wagon of K's origin is a (mainly) plastic

6 wheeled 'Low Syphon', (as it's described on the base!)

With a bit of work, this also now runs ok.

 

Jeff

[Coach bogie]

 

The only other wagon of K's origin is a (mainly) plastic

6 wheeled 'Low Syphon', (as it's described on the base!)

With a bit of work, this also now runs ok.

 

Jeff

There are at least three versions of the K's siphon, all whitemetal, plastic body/cast underframe, all plastic.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[jcm@gwr]

There are at least three versions of the K's siphon, all whitemetal, plastic body/cast underframe, all plastic.

 

Mike Wiltshire

Mine is the middle version, didn't realise there were 3 variants.

Thanks for the info.

 

Slightly O/T, I checked on the 'gwr.org' site and the Syphon is

not listed (I thought I would see which Dia. they claimed it to be)

And yes, I did send a PM to Miss Prism before I mentioned this

before I brought it up on the open forum!

 

Cheers, Jeff

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

Here is not what I have done with my Ks kit - more what I am doing! A little sneaky peak of forthcoming attractions on Little Didcot...

 

 

I should have this one finished in the next couple of days.

 

Possibly.

 

Or not.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[Coach bogie]

I pretend it is 1952 and Thunderbolt has been sent from Limpley Stoke to Westbury for turning.

 

Built using original K's wheels, motor etc. Plates from Gary at 247 Developments.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

Forgot to mention. Dan's coach body is...K's. The foreign 'Mataro' coach plastic coach pack K's used to sell.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Coach bogie

[Darwinian]

I only ever built two Ks locomotives, both origninally when I was a teenager in the mid 70s. The GWR 1361 sadle tank is featured on Castle's Little Didcot thread so I won't post it again here. The 4574 ran for several years and eventually got rebuilt with a compensated, scratchbuilt chassis which never got finished. The battered body is lying around in a box somewhere amongst my railway bits.

 

I am fairly sure however that this passenger brake van was also a Ks kit. It was the first railway vehicle that actually ran (as opposed to the old Airfix, now Dapol, loco kits) that I ever built and started me off on the model railway bug.

It was rebuilt either in the late 70s or mid 80s with Mallard Models American bogies (for which I found a photograph of one so fitted) in place of the cast ones that had no bearings and had become very sloppy. At the same time the original peco type couplings were changed to Jacksons screw type.

 

 

It became a guinea pig for my experiments with Dingham couplers in the last few years and is still in use.

 

Adrian

[Castle]

Hi All,

 

Now posted on Little Didcot:

 

 

For the build story go here:

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/51212-little-didcot/page-19&do=findComment&comment=1064401

 

I have the Ks GWR Loco Coal wagon to do too...

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[jcm@gwr]

Update time!

Having just checked the 'new, improved' list on 'gwr.org',

thanks Miss Prism.

 

I now know that I also have the 6 wheeled tank wagon (milk)

in whitemetal.

Non-runner at the moment, and it will need a lot of TLC to

change that situation!

 

Cheers, Jeff

[N15class]

This is the last K's loco I built. It is the 43xx sitting on a Comet chassis with Romford wheels. (or could of been Sharman wheels?) Memory is going.

 

Sorry for the poor photo but it is the only one I have as it was built a few years ago.

 

 

 

I also found the passenger brakes and siphon F's built into lovely models. I always modified the underframes.

Edited June 10, 2013 by N15class

[Coach bogie]

I bought a badly built K's Bulldog for low cost. Luckily it had been glued with Evostick. A good soaking in paint stripper and I had an original kit again. Using a etch from a Nucast Flower I modified the side frames to produce a Bird. K's actually produced cast Bird conversion frames but you had to buy direct from the factory. I only found this out when K's had ceased production.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Oldddudders]

K's looked overseas for sales, too. While this is on a Jouef chassis, it looks pretty good for all that.

 

http://www.ebay.fr/itm/RARE-AUTORAIL-VH-P-O-MIDI-JOUEF-KEYSER-APOCOPA-/121128765101?pt=FR_YO_JeuxJouetd_TrainsElectriques&hash=item1c33d646ad

[Michael Delamar]

Ive been wanting a Fowler dock tank for a while now but cant decide on the K's or the Mercian one.

[colinjamesporter]

Here is my effort. Its a keyser 97xx body i built up from a kit picked up on ebay. It has been detailed up using parts from mainly trains, maygib, branchlines and a the chassis off a Bachmann pannier.

Best wishes

Colin

[Mrkirtley800]

A couple more examples of Keyser kits.

The large Atlantic was bought cheaply second hand.  The previous owner must have had real problems getting the thing to run.

First job was dunking into nitromores, to clean up and remove all the bits stuck on with glue.  Some of the kit had been soldered, so I had no option but to leave alone.  Went together pretty well, but had to  scratch build a new chassis.  The front bogie was always going to be a problem, so it was split, with the leading bogie axle on a pony truck and the second axle running in slots and sprung.  Driven by a superb Ultrascale  motor/gearbox units, it is powerful and will easily take  2'3" curves.  For many years thought it was a DGH kit, until I saw one.  I was then told my example is from the K's stable.  you live and you learn.

 

The two LNWR six wheelers are a bit on the heavy side despite being fairly free running.  Both painted by Coachman Larry back in about 1973.

My apologies for my poor photography.

[N15class]

A couple more examples of Keyser kits.

The large Atlantic was bought cheaply second hand.  The previous owner must have had real problems getting the thing to run.

First job was dunking into nitromores, to clean up and remove all the bits stuck on with glue.  Some of the kit had been soldered, so I had no option but to leave alone.  Went together pretty well, but had to  scratch build a new chassis.  The front bogie was always going to be a problem, so it was split, with the leading bogie axle on a pony truck and the second axle running in slots and sprung.  Driven by a superb Ultrascale  motor/gearbox units, it is powerful and will easily take  2'3" curves.  For many years thought it was a DGH kit, until I saw one.  I was then told my example is from the K's stable.  you live and you learn.

 

The two LNWR six wheelers are a bit on the heavy side despite being fairly free running.  Both painted by Coachman Larry back in about 1973.

My apologies for my poor photography.

Lovely looking models.

I always thought that the majority of K´s kits made into nice models. I think they still can stand comparison at normal viewing distance.

[Mrkirtley800]

Thank you N15class.  Forgot to add, the Atlantic is to 00 gauge, the LNWR stock is to EM gauge.  Our layout is dual gauge, 00 is my son's , the EM is mine.

Derek

[N15class]

Thank you N15class.  Forgot to add, the Atlantic is to 00 gauge, the LNWR stock is to EM gauge.  Our layout is dual gauge, 00 is my son's , the EM is mine.

Derek

That must be interesting

[Mrkirtley800]

Can be very interesting, especially when a guest tries to put an EM vehicle on 00 track.

Truth is, we have a four line through station supposedly the Skipton - Ilkley line (00 gauge) and a might have been 'son of Settle-Carlisle' which in reality became the Grassington branch (EM gauge).  The lines come together just before Skipton station, which of course is off-stage

Crafty eh11

Derek

[brian777999]

What happened to the K's kits ? I assume that somebody still has the molds ? (I am sorry if this was covered earlier.)

Edited August 1, 2013 by brian777999